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Martin County could look to other communities for advice on beach booze ban

From left, Jenny Walker of Jensen Beach, Mercedes Pardo of Rio, and Megan Sandell of Jensen Beach, visit Chastain Beach in Stuart with beers ahead of Hurricane Matthew on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. Alcohol is allowed on all Martin County beaches, but might be up for discussion with county commissioners in 2017.(Photo: LEAH VOSS/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS)Buy Photo

Derek Schwab sipped Tito's vodka with Gatorade as he hung out with his parents and his girlfriend on a recent Friday evening at the Jensen Beach Causeway park. They usually unwind after work with drinks at the beach, but that day picked the causeway park.

A county alcohol ban, considered earlier this year, could have made that impossible.

The Martin County Commission considered prohibiting alcohol on beaches and at the Stuart and Jensen Beach causeway parks, but ultimately shot down the initiative.

That was the right decision, if you ask Schwab.

"Why not have families who work hard and pay taxes in this county be able to pack a cooler and have a good time and look at the water?" asked the 34-year-old Port St. Lucie resident.

But Martin County might not be done looking at the issue. Once two new county commissioners take office next month, the commission might revisit its policy on alcohol at beaches and causeway parks, said Kevin Abbate, county parks director.

BALANCING ACT

Allowing alcohol on public beaches while controlling problems such as rowdiness and underage drinking is a complex balance.

Should the county again consider regulating beach booze, it could look to two other Florida coastal communities that have addressed the issue.

Cocoa Beach, on the Brevard County barrier island, and Treasure Island, a barrier-island community on the Gulf of Mexico, allow drinking on their beaches but regulate it to target alcohol-related problems they've had.

In Treasure Island, in Pinellas County, crowds used to pile onto a narrow stretch of beach, leading to underage drinking, other alcohol-related incidents and parking issues, Police Chief Armand Boudreau explained.

Why the attraction of that stretch of sand? It was just a short walk from Caddy's on the Beach, a restaurant that hosted live music, said police Lt. Trenton Taylor.

So in 2013, the city imposed a limited alcohol ban on that particular beach, on weekends and holidays between Feb. 1 and Oct. 1.

"It affects about a 12-block (section) on the beach in an area where we had significant crowds," Boudreau said.

Before the ban, crowds sat on the beach near Caddy's, enjoying the live music and drinking their own alcohol. After the restrictions, the crowds — as well as the alcohol-related incidents — dispersed, Taylor said.

"If they couldn't go and drink their alcohol on that specific spot, then there wasn't the draw anywhere on the rest of the beach," he said.

However, Mayor Tim Tumulty said, there's no limit on the number of coolers one person can bring as long as each container is no bigger than a gallon. The rules have been successful in keeping people from bringing kegs of beer to the beach, he said.

When the rules were adopted in 2005, the city was worried that the prevalent beach drinking was driving away families.

Increased drinking on beaches "may be considered a threat to the family-oriented resort-community atmosphere," Cocoa Beach city staff wrote in a memo.

That philosophy closely reflects some of the reasoning behind Martin County's proposal earlier this year..

“People who drink in excess in the middle of the day in the heat oftentimes engage in very boisterous roughhousing, the kind of behavior that just intimidates the law-abiding citizen,” Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said in late 2015.

Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Christine Christofek said deputies have increased patrols on the beach and causeways, and the county had "a very quiet summer" when it comes to alcohol-related incidents.

Snyder declined an interview for this story.

WOULD A BAN WORK?

For the most part, Florida coastal communities either ban alcohol on their beaches or allow it. Where it's permitted, cities and counties usually impose rules such as banning glass containers. Where it's prohibited, it often still is allowed for special events.

It remains unknown whether an outright and total beach-alcohol ban in Martin County would curb drinking on beaches and reduce other issues.

"Pot is illegal and people do it all the time. You know people are going to sneak it (alcohol)," said 27-year-old Garan Dion, Schwab's girlfriend.

Schwab echoed the sentiment.

"What are they going to do, come in and check my water bottle?" he asked.

Martin remains the only county on the Treasure Coast with a 24-hour unrestricted alcohol policy for all of its beaches and the two causeway parks.

St. Lucie County prohibits drinking on its beaches unless the County Commission approves a permit. Beaches there are open during daylight hours.

For their part, friends Dylan Massing, 23, and Meaghan Collins, 21, never have seen rowdy crowds drinking at Martin County beaches, they said as each sipped from cans of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on Stuart Beach.

"Some of the parents might have a Corona in their hand, but I've never seen kids get out of hand," said Massing, of Jensen Beach.

Banning alcohol on Martin County beaches, if that proposal ever is brought back up, wouldn't deter them from going back to the beach, Massing and Collins said.

Nevertheless, "it would be a shame," said Collins, of Hobe Sound, "because it's nice to be able to bring beer on the beach."